“These days, your average dame and daddy-o has seen it all,” Rockefeller, a notable enthusiast of the Roaring Twenties, said. “Jazz bands, secret passwords, $14 cocktails with those giant ice cubes — all old hat. I wanted to give them something they couldn’t get anywhere else — the chance to be behind bars like an early 20th century boozehound.”

However, unlike his other thematic choices, including a door disguised as a bookshelf and a despondent, early childhood education major disguised as a waitress, Rockefeller wasn’t satisfied with mere imitation. Partnering with the Richmond Police Department, Rockefeller is living up to his word by offering guests the experience of one night spent in a genuine Richmond city jail cell.

Jeremy Slaughter and his date Susan Johnson were among the first to test the night in jail concept. “This was only our second date, but I really wanted to wow her,” Slaughter said. “Plus, if things went really well we wouldn’t even need to drive back to my parents place in Henrico.”

After sharing an appetizer and something in a small glass called a Jamaican Ginger, Slaughter and Johnson were immediately accosted by two plainclothes officers and shoved into the back of a police cruiser. Both endured intense verbal abuse during their short ride to the Richmond City Jail, although neither could understand much of what was being said. “They kept telling us things like how we were bent and zozzled and whatnot,” Johnson said. “And I’m pretty sure one of them said I had nice gams.”

Shortly thereafter the couple was checked into a small cell, offered a complimentary meal, and then left alone to contemplate their poor decisions.

“It was honestly a nice change of pace,” Slaughter said. “Our cell was way less cramped than the bar, and the food was about the same. Plus if your date isn’t going well, you can always get yourself thrown into solitary.”

Building off a positive soft launch, Grandstaff & Stein has already begun plans to offer more interactive tie-ins. “We’re really hitting on all eight, you know what I mean?” Rockefeller said, feverishly twirling an exaggerated handlebar mustache. “The sky’s the limit. I’ve already got some ideas laid out for a Valentine’s Day Massacre brunch. A little giggle juice and some hot lead and this gin mill will be popping like a Chinese firecracker.”